Back Again ;)

It appears that I have disappeared yet again!! I don't do this intentionally.... yet it keeps happening!

This pair you see here have already been adopted, but I wanted to show you anyways ;) The taller of the two is Travis. He's the first in my new pattern measuring in at 13 1/2" tall. I can't wait to use this new pattern again!

As for stuff going on... there's been tons! Last week my hubby took vacation from work to work on the yard. Thank goodness my daughter was home from college (and had not yet gone out to visit her father) so she could help him! That means I was able to work on bears :)

The deck is now finished!! I wanted the bottom of the deck to be enclosed with latticework. Not the easiest thing to do because the ground is NOT flat - but they did it!

We've had bunnies make nests under the deck and that drives our whippets NUTS. That in turn drives ME nuts LOL!! We're starting to do some landscaping in the back yard too. It will take a little while, but it's starting to look nice!

On another subject - you may have heard that Amber & Connie of ABC Unlimited Productions have retired. That means there will no longer be a "Schaumburg Show" in either April or October! Those shows have been running for 20 years, so I was very sorry to see them go.

In case you are not aware... Schaumburg is practically in my back yard..... so, instead of just "letting it go", I contacted my very good friend Daphne Blau We are seriously looking into the possibility of producing a Chicago area show together starting in 2009.

We just couldn't stand by and watch the show die. There are still collectors here who want to attend bear shows. There are still artists who want to come here. But it won't be in the same place or town - that's part of why Amber and Connie decided to retire - it is EXPENSIVE to hold a show in the Chicago area!

Daphne and I think we've found an awesome spot to hold the show that is the best of both worlds - nice atmosphere (ie: not a gym) but not super expensive so we can keep the artist cost lower than before. Stay tuned for more info!